When will the censorship stop??? - GoFuckYourself.com

undermyspell · 01-14-2004, 05:31 PM

After reading the following story i'm wondering if they are going to revert back to the practice of not allowing you to hear a toilet flush on television or radio as it was in the 50's and 60's...

FCC Seeks to Limit F-Word on U.S. Airwaves

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell has proposed barring the F-word from most radio and broadcast television, regardless of the context, sources close to the issue said on Tuesday.

The proposal would overturn an October FCC staff decision that ruled the word was not indecent when U2 rocker Bono used it while accepting an award during the 2003 live broadcast of the "Golden Globe Awards" on the NBC television network.

To succeed, Powell will have to garner at least two other votes for the proposal and the four other FCC commissioners are now considering the issue, the sources said.

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said in a statement he could not comment on specifics "but I've been pushing for strong action against indecency since I got here."

"I'll know this commission is serious when it starts assessing meaningful fines and having truly filthy broadcasts lead to license revocation hearings," he said.

The October decision sparked outrage among some advocacy groups who complained that millions of children were watching the broadcast. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has scheduled a hearing on the broadcast indecency for next week.

Federal law bars the airing of obscene speech and limits the time for broadcasting indecent material that contains sexual or excretory references in a patently offensive manner.

The agency defines as indecent speech that depicts or describes sexual organs or activities, and a broadcast must be "patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium."

The FCC staff had determined that Bono used as an adjective or expletive to emphasize an exclamation and while it may have been crude and offensive, it "did not describe sexual or excretory organs or activities."

It was unclear whether the stations that aired the awards show would be fined, though one source said a majority of commissioners might want to penalize the broadcasters.

A spokeswoman for NBC, which is owned by General Electric Co. , said the network had no immediate comment.

Raven · 01-14-2004, 06:56 PM

When a neighbour said...

"This is not a nice place"

and was never heard from again...

in the Soviet Union....

it was time to get out.

This is only the beginning of the slippery slope in the US.

It's getting real muddy out there.

traffictrader · 01-14-2004, 06:57 PM

http://randomfoo.net/oscon/2002/lessig/free.html

sworld · 01-14-2004, 07:24 PM

Blank the FCC! and blank the guy's mom who runs it!

01-14-2004, 05:31 PM	#1
undermyspell Confirmed User Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 875	When will the censorship stop??? After reading the following story i'm wondering if they are going to revert back to the practice of not allowing you to hear a toilet flush on television or radio as it was in the 50's and 60's... FCC Seeks to Limit F-Word on U.S. Airwaves WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell has proposed barring the F-word from most radio and broadcast television, regardless of the context, sources close to the issue said on Tuesday. The proposal would overturn an October FCC staff decision that ruled the word was not indecent when U2 rocker Bono used it while accepting an award during the 2003 live broadcast of the "Golden Globe Awards" on the NBC television network. To succeed, Powell will have to garner at least two other votes for the proposal and the four other FCC commissioners are now considering the issue, the sources said. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said in a statement he could not comment on specifics "but I've been pushing for strong action against indecency since I got here." "I'll know this commission is serious when it starts assessing meaningful fines and having truly filthy broadcasts lead to license revocation hearings," he said. The October decision sparked outrage among some advocacy groups who complained that millions of children were watching the broadcast. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has scheduled a hearing on the broadcast indecency for next week. Federal law bars the airing of obscene speech and limits the time for broadcasting indecent material that contains sexual or excretory references in a patently offensive manner. The agency defines as indecent speech that depicts or describes sexual organs or activities, and a broadcast must be "patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium." The FCC staff had determined that Bono used as an adjective or expletive to emphasize an exclamation and while it may have been crude and offensive, it "did not describe sexual or excretory organs or activities." It was unclear whether the stations that aired the awards show would be fined, though one source said a majority of commissioners might want to penalize the broadcasters. A spokeswoman for NBC, which is owned by General Electric Co. , said the network had no immediate comment.

01-14-2004, 06:56 PM	#2
Raven Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 6,874	When a neighbour said... "This is not a nice place" and was never heard from again... in the Soviet Union.... it was time to get out. This is only the beginning of the slippery slope in the US. It's getting real muddy out there. __________________ Raven ~RETIRED~

01-14-2004, 06:57 PM	#3
traffictrader Confirmed User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: ICQ# 93507395 Posts: 1,331	http://randomfoo.net/oscon/2002/lessig/free.html __________________

01-14-2004, 07:24 PM	#4
sworld Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 512	Blank the FCC! and blank the guy's mom who runs it! __________________